Racial Bias & Discrimination

A majority of black Americans say that at some point in their lives they’ve experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity, but blacks who have attended college are more likely than those without any college experience to say so.

Blacks and whites differ on the extent to which a person's race can be a burden or a benefit. For blacks, the answer is clear: 65% say “it is a lot more difficult to be black in this country than it is to be white.” Fewer than half as many whites (27%) agree.

General awareness of Black Lives Matter is widespread among black and white U.S. adults, but attitudes about the movement vary considerably between groups.

52% of U.S. Hispanics say they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity.

There are deep divisions between blacks and whites in how they see racial discrimination, barriers to black progress and prospects for change.

There are profound differences between black and white Americans in how they view the current state of race relations and racial equality and in the ways they experience day-to-day life.

That's compared with 27% of Gen Xers and 24% of Boomers who say the same.

To overcome the obstacles of measuring racial attitudes, Pew Research Center conducted an Implicit Association Test (IAT), a technique that psychologists say measures subconscious or “hidden” bias by tracking how quickly individuals associate good and bad words with specific racial groups.

Survey Report Over the past year, there has been a substantial rise in the share of Americans — across racial and ethnic groups — who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites, and a growing number of Americans view racism as a big problem in society. Today, […]

Income segregation has increased over the past 30 years in 27 of the 30 largest U.S. metro areas. There were clear divisions between low-income and middle- and upper-income areas, as well as along racial lines.